Fic: The Night Things Changed (1/2), Gen, PG
Fic title: The Night Things Changed
Author name: isdon_isgood9
Genre: Gen
Pairing and/or characters: Chloe Sullivan, J’onn Johnz, Martha Kent, Oliver Queen, Victor Stone, Bart Allen, Tess Mercer, Waller/The White Queen, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Carter Hall, Kent Nelson, Courtney Whitmore
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I in no way own Smallville. Please don’t sue, I’m a poor uni student.
Word count: 11,510
Warnings: Spoilers for Roulette, Checkmate, Absolute Justice
Summary: After the devastating events of Doomsday Chloe doesn’t feel like she can continue on with the life she has been living. She restores Oliver to his status as the Green Arrow and then leaves, hoping to come to terms with what had happened. Little did she know that she would discover a path that would make her into the hero she always dreamed to be.
Link to fic:
Part one, Part Two
Link to art: I’m not sure what happened to my artist but she never responded to my PM’s and when I realised that I hadn’t heard from her it was a week from my posting date and I couldn’t bring myself to try and get another artist just so someone else had to scramble to make art for this fic. It just didn’t seem far :D
A/N: Firstly can I say time zones confuse me so I’m hoping it’s still the 2nd in America but since I’m in Australia I hope you forgive me :D. Now I’ve been dying to write this for a while now and when I needed a smallvillebbang fic idea I figured why not try this. Of course it was a struggle to find the words at times and I felt like I should rip out my hair but I got there eventually (while doing another big ban gat the same time). I want to say thank you so much twinsarein you’ve gone above and beyond in your modding skills.
I also want to say that this fic wasn’t beta’d. I wanted it to be beta’d but life got in the way and there wasn’t time. It seems to be the story of my life so if there are problems please feel free to point them out to me :D. Also I’ve used a quote in here from the last Animorph’s book. Unless you know the books you probably won’t know what it but it comes from one the main character’s death scene where she asks whether she made a difference and the being she is talking to responds with “Yes. You were brave. You were strong. You were good. You mattered.” And I always wanted to use that line in relation to Chloe.
Anyway I’ll stop prattling on now. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment. I love constructive criticism :D.
September 27th 2012
Shifting her glasses she watched the confrontation in front of her. Tess Mercer was a silly girl and she couldn’t help but shake her head at the antics that she used. Still it was a very Tess way to deal with the situation. Watching as the butt of Tess’s gun smacked the Green Arrow across the head she sighed before tapping her com, opening a channel between herself and the home base.
“Arrow is out. The White Queen is making her move. I’m preparing to engage in pursuit.” Nodding as the voice in her ear answered she said, “Yes. It’s about time we showed Waller whose boss. Phoenix out.”
Dropping down off the roof she ran for her bike, lifting the kick stand and moving it swiftly into gear before following Tess’s car. She had grown to love this game of cat and mouse, only this time she wasn’t the mouse.
August 31st 2009
Smiling as she watched Oliver laughing at something Clark was saying in his ear, Chloe was glad that Oliver was finally smiling again. It was a weird, to think that she had done that for one of her heroes. She had saved him from the depth of depression so that they were able to smile again. It had been hard. She had to convince far too many people to come back when they didn’t want to and the only way she could really get them to agree would be to allow for them return to wherever they were hiding in the first place. She didn’t like it one bit but she had bit the bullet and allowed them all to drop off the grid again. It was obvious that they weren’t ready to reform yet and she could let them be for a while. Eventually she knew they would have to come back.
Hopefully her decision would help them to come back.
Smiling as Oliver walked over she was glad that his first patrol had been successful. Hopefully it would be enough to convince him to stay. After all Metropolis needed heroes and Oliver was one of the best in her opinion. It might take him a bit of time to get back to where he was before the Doomsday incident but she knew he would make it. He finally had the ability to pick himself up and out of the gutter. It was a good know that he was returning to himself. Once his company was back to its proper status she knew that Oliver would finally feel like himself.
“You ready to get out of here sidekick?,” Oliver asked, running a hand along her desk, “Not that this isn’t a good place to be. You’ve done a lot with my money.”
“I didn’t do it,” Chloe replied with a shake of her head, “Emil did and he did an amazing job.” Sighing she closed her eyes before turning to face him completely, “But I’m defiantly ready to head home.”
“Good, I’ll walk you to your car.” Oliver said, standing and offering his arm.
Picking up a folder that was laying on her desk she replied, “I’ll meet you at the elevator, I need to shut this place down for the night.”
“Is there anything I can do to help with that?”
“Not without ruining everything,” Chloe replied, “I’ll only be a minute.”
Hearing Oliver sigh she watched as he headed to the door before she switched off the computers, moving slowly around the room. She ran her hand over the tops of the closest computers before circling back to her desk, and her handbag. Pulling out an envelope, addressed to the league, she placed to on the desk. Smoothing it out so it looked like it naturally belonged there and would blend in with the other papers around it she was hoping she could make it out of the state before anyone read the letter.
Sometimes she still couldn’t believe that she had gotten the chance to work for such amazing people, doing such amazing things. Leaving them was one of the hardest things she had to do but she had to leave. She had crossed a line when she came to Davis, she knew that, even if Clark didn’t believe that she did, and she needed to deal with that. Find a way to go back to being a hero. So she got herself a new job, in Washington, as a reporter, hoping that the life she once wanted would help her find peace within herself again.
Shaking her head she picked up her bag and keys. Placing the bag over her shoulder she pulled her key to the Watchtower off her key ring and left it on top of the envelope. Walking backwards towards the door she took a final look at the place. The wedding gift from her dead husband, the place that had ultimately been where he was murdered, she couldn’t help but feel sad. It was time for her to find peace with that. While the heroes around her had been falling apart she had found a way to stay together long enough to place them back together. Now that Oliver was well on the way she felt more than safe enough to leave, knowing that somehow Ollie would find a way to pull together the rest of the heroes in their scrappy band.
Smiling as she turned and headed towards him. She entered the elevator, taking Oliver’s arm when he offered it and waited for the elevator to start it decent. Today would be the last time Chloe would be here.
After today she would no longer be Chloe Sullivan.
September 27th 2012
Starting her bike for a second time that night she followed the van, praying that she would be able to pull off the move she was about to make. After all this was her first job out on her own, at least in the field. Normally she worked behind her desk, she hadn’t been needed in the field until now and it allowed for greater flexibility when it came to her day job, but it meant she didn’t get much of a chance to be a part of the action. She had been trained for this, worked hard to ensure that she could be in the field, after all that was what she had been hired for originally. The opportunity to use those skills had just never come up before.
Shaking her head she tried to refocus, knowing this move would have to be performed with precision. Taking her left leg off the bike she placed it on the seat in front of her. Making sure that the bike was parallel to the van she waited, taking her foot off the accelerator slowly. Feeling the bike slow under her body she took a deep breath, closing her eyes to keep her centre until she felt the bike slow further. Taking a deep breath she gathered her courage before jumping across, grabbing onto the side of the van with her hands. Swinging one leg up onto the back she smiled before ensuring the other leg was up on the platform. Moving towards the door she pulled out her lock picking seat. Fiddling with the locks for a couple of minutes she smiled as the door swung opened a couple of millimetres.
The White Queen’s voice came floating out of the door the minute it opened, “Well, I'm sorry you think these tactics are crude. But I fear for our country's security. That's why I'm recruiting capable people like you.”
Rolling her eyes she peeked in, spotting the Green Arrow tied to a chair in the middle of the van. His hands were working on his binds even as he was throwing snarky comments at the White Queen. Smiling she pulled the door open a few further inches before slipping into the back of the van. Pulling her gun from her belt she shook her head as she heard the White Queen babble on about working for their country. Moving into the light she raised the gun at the television screen that Waller was using to communicate.
“I think that’s enough Waller. The Red Queen says hello,” she commented, just as she had been instructed, before pulling the trigger. The shot went through the television, cutting off Waller’s transmission.
Shaking her head she turned to the Green Arrow. This would prove whether or voice distorter did its job or not, “How much longer til you get yourself out?” she asked.
“I’m done now,” he replied, showing her his hands, the cuffs swinging off the right one.
Smiling she nodded, “Ok then we should get out of here before the driver realises what’s happened.”
Heading to the door she looked over her shoulder to ensure he followed before leaping off the van, falling into a commando roll to protect herself from the fall. Rolling up to her feet she smiled when she saw that the Green Arrow had done the same thing. Turning to glance back down the road she saw her bike lying in one piece.
Turning back to the Archer she said, “Metropolis is a four hour walk that way. You should be able to get there before sunrise,” pointing to the east. She watched as he looked in the direction she was pointing, seeing the skyline, before he turned back to her.
“Where are you going then? Back to this Red Queen? And who the hell was that? What’s going on?”
“The Red Queen is the good guy in the chess game,” she said with a smile, “Trust in that. I would never lie to you Archer.”
“I don’t even know you.”
“That doesn’t matter, I know you.”
Watching him nod he didn’t say anything else, just continued to size her up. When he finally turned and left, starting on his trek, she sighed. She knew he wouldn’t trust her, not without knowing who she actually was, but she was glad that he walked away without any further questions. It was a good quality for a hero to have but she prayed that Oliver didn’t actually use the gene to keep people in his other life away. It shouldn’t bother her anymore but for some reason it did. Thinking he was far enough away she pushed down her hood, letting her red hair fly free in the breeze. It had grown over time and she had become very use to the fact that it wasn’t blond anymore. Not that it really mattered.
Sighing she headed for her bike. She knew that tonight they had only won a battle but the war was far from over. Chloe prayed it would be over soon, that there time would come and that she would be able to return to a semi-normal life, before she had worked with the Red Queen.
October 4th 2009
Chloe had only been in Washington DC for a month but she had already had three articles published in the Washington Post as their new freelance journalist. It felt good to get back to her roots, to be writing again without the drama of hiding secrets. No one really cared about Clark here. No one wanted the superheroes of the world to unmask. Here the only really care was politics. What was happening in their capitol city was big and it was what had led Chloe to her stories and Perry White. She had called in a favour with him and in turn he had hooked her up with the editor at the Post. They had offered her a full time job but she didn’t feel like it was a good idea, burying herself in work. If she wanted that she could have just stayed in Metropolis but here she was going to be different, or at least she was going to try to be.
Smiling she moved between the shelves in the supermarket picking up the things she needed. She was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a shirt. Her newly red hair was tied up in a pony tail at the top of her head. It was odd. She still couldn’t get use to looking in the mirror and seeing red hair but she wanted to be as disguised as possible. The hair was just to make sure she stayed that way, just like the way she was growing it out. It was falling longer than it had in a while now but it was still pretty short. In a couple of months it would be a lot longer.
Sighing she pulled the box of cereal she had been looking for off the shelf and into her trolley just as someone called her name. Knowing that she didn’t know many people in Washington she turned to see who could possibly be calling her. Smiling she was shocked to see Martha Kent coming towards her. Waving she waited for the older woman to join her.
Returning the woman’s embrace she smiled and said, “Hey Martha, what are you doing here? This is a little bit regular for a Senator.”
“I know but it has that charm that I miss from Smallville,” she replied, pulling Chloe in close to her side, “Now when did you move to Washington and why didn’t Clark tell me?”
“Clark didn’t tell you cause I didn’t tell him this was where I was going. The whole moving thing is a long story not really designed for a supermarket,” Chloe replied with a chuckle, hopping that Martha would leave it at that.
“Well then I guess I’ll have come over, see your place, get the whole story and make you dinner.”
Sighing Chloe smiled at the older woman, she should have realised that she couldn’t get out of it, “As long as you make your apple pie.”
“I think that can be arranged,” Martha replied.
Several hours later Chloe was sitting on her couch next to Martha having finally finished telling her all that happened over the last two years. Watching the woman gape made her nervous. After all she couldn’t tell what the older woman was thinking. The whole story was a lot to take in and she had to go into a lot of the details that Clark had apparently left out when he spoke to his mother about it. She understood why Clark would keep something like that from his mother but she also knew that Martha wasn’t like other parents. She understood what happened better with her first hand experiences of the weird and wonderful things that could happen in Smallville.
“Oh Chloe,” the older woman whispered, “I can’t believe all of this happened to you. I wish I could have known sooner.”
“There’s nothing to be done now Mrs Kent. I just have to deal with my guilt,” Chloe replied with a simple shrug.
“Chloe, listen to me carefully cause I’m only going to say this once. You were brave, you were strong, you were good, and you mattered. I’m astounded by the courage that you have displayed during these events. Don’t you ever doubt that,” Martha whispered.
Smiling at the older woman she couldn’t help but feel better, “Thank you Mrs Kent but I just did what needed to be done. Anyone else would have done the same thing.”
Shaking her head Martha replied, “Maybe it’s good you got away from Smallville and Metropolis. While some of the choices you made weren’t great you were trying to do the right thing.”
“Thank you Mrs Kent,” she whispered, rubbing the older woman’s arm, “I’m glad you think so. You’re opinion means so much to me.”
September 27th 2012
Pulling into the underground car park of the hotel she was staying in Chloe used the service entrance to make her way to her floor. Kicking off her boots at the doorway she sighed, getting ready to take off the rest of her costume. When she had first been recruited by the Red Queen she didn’t like that idea of wearing a costume but it had grown on her since then. Of course her costume was more modest than the other members of the Red Queen’s organisation. The vest cut off at her shoulders, had a hood attached to the back and stopped when it got to her hips. In some ways the vest reminded her of the vest that Oliver wore. She also wore motorcycle boots, just like Oliver’s but that’s where the similarities stopped. Her outfit had a shirt, that fell to about her mid thigh and utility belt that held her weapons and devices. It was a bold crimson, like every other members was except for one, who happened to be standing in the middle of her room.
Smiling at him she said, “What did you find out?”
“Not a lot,” J’onn replied, “I’ll go look around in a bit.”
Chloe nodded, walking over to her bedside table and dropping her belt onto it, “Ok. Does the League know yet?”
“Not that I know of,” J’onn said, “They haven’t raised the signal yet. I think I’d be one of the first to be called but that can’t always be guaranteed when it comes to Dinah.”
Chloe sighed and fell onto the bed. It was still hard at times to hear that the league had replaced her with Dinah. Other times she just found it funny. A hero being demoted to her sidekick role still had her laughing at times but she could never understand why the league had decided to put her in that role. Chloe was sure that Victor would take over when she left but that wasn’t the case and while she couldn’t understand why the league had decided to pick Dinah what puzzled her more was why Dinah would agree to play Watchtower. She was sure the other woman would quickly get bored with the role but since she had found out two years ago the woman had kept the job.
Turning to smile at J’onn she said, “Well Oliver should be back within the next couple of hours. At morning by the latest depending on how hard the blow to the head was.”
“Well I’ll go survey the scene, see if I can’t find out how to get to someone else in the organisation. We just need one member to slip up and we’ll have the location of Checkmate’s headquarters. How goes the recruiting?”
Chloe rolled her eyes, “The Justice Society have well and truly hidden themselves. I do have a lead though.”
“But?”
“But it requires me to go to the Daily Planet and risk running into Clark, or worse, Lois.” Chloe replied, lying back on the bed, “But it’s all for the greater good so I’ll find a way.”
J’onn nodded, “Good to know. We’ll meet back here tomorrow night and trade notes.”
Chloe nodded her agreement and watched as J’onn left. Pulling her laptop onto the bed she switched it on before standing to get rid of her uniform. Half the time she still couldn’t believe that this had happened to her. That she was working for the Red Queen. But it had happened, purely by accident, and it had changed her life forever.
October 14th 2010
Putting the finishing touches on her meal she placed the roast on the table just as the bell rang. Smiling she headed to answer it, already knowing who it was. After their initial reunion a year ago they had met up frequently and that had increased over time so much that as long as Martha was in town they had dinner ever Sunday. It was just the two of them, catching up and sometimes reminiscing about life in Smallville and Clark. She felt so grateful to be able to share her feelings with someone who understood where she was coming from. When she had told Martha what had happened between her and Clark after Jimmy’s funeral the older woman had gotten mad at her son, not being able to understand how her son could just leave and try to remove himself completely from the humanity that Martha had worked so hard to instil in her son. While Chloe was happy that someone finally understood where she was coming from she couldn’t help but convince Martha that it had been ok, that she had somehow managed.
Chloe smiled, heading for the door. Glancing at the clock Chloe rolled her eyes, Martha was always late when senate was in session. Opening the door she was shocked to see that Martha wasn’t alone.
Smiling at the pair she said, “I wasn’t expecting you to bring someone with you Mrs Kent.”
Hugging the younger woman Martha sighed, “I’m sorry for the short notice but J’onn just dropped in unexpectedly. I didn’t want to cancel our dinner so I invited him along. I hope you don’t mind too much.”
“Not too much,” Chloe said with a smile, hugging J’onn as he entered the house, “Just a surprise.”
“Well I’m afraid that’s all my doing. I didn’t warn Martha that I was coming to visit, not that I knew you were here,” J’onn replied.
Shrugging Chloe led the pair into the lounge room, “Well that’s good. At least I know the League hasn’t been looking for me.”
“Oliver has,” J’onn replied with a sad smiled, “The rest of the team is still disrupted around the world. They haven’t done well with taking your advice.”
Noticing Martha’s raised eyebrow Chloe gave another shrug, “I left a note when I left Metropolis. It said that Oliver should put the League back together, continuing being a hero.”
“That’s very sweet of you Chloe, I’m sure the team will get themselves together soon enough,” Martha said, rubbing a hand down Chloe’s arm.
“I hope so,” Chloe whispered.
September 28th 2012
Walking into the museum Chloe smiled. She had expected the owner, Carter Hall, to have been onto her in a second since the museum was supposed to be closed. Pausing in the entryway Chloe glanced from right to left. There were two doorways she could go through. Deciding to go with the one on the right she wondered through, taking in the sheets that covered over the artefacts. It was weird and a little sad, to think that a place that was so filled with history could become so forgotten and it was all because of an incident with Checkmate. She hoped that one day this place could be restored in all its glory.
“Who are you?”
Turning Chloe was surprised to see a blonde standing behind her, arms crossed, dressed in red, white and blue. Taking a step forward Chloe smiled and said, “I’m looking for Carter Hall and Kent Nelson. I was told I could find them here.”
“Who told you that?”
“The information I was able to find online. It’s fairly simple to look up someone’s address with the use of the internet.” When the younger girl’s expression didn’t change Chloe took a step forward, putting out her hand, “Look we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I’m Chloe Sullivan and you are?”
“I’m Courtney,” the girl said with the shrug, “What do you want with Carter and Nelson?
“I want to talk to them about what they know about an organisation named Checkmate.” Chloe replied, “I can assume you’re a protégé of one of them.”
“No,” Courtney whispered, “Not that it’s any of your business. You should leave before Carter get’s back, he won’t ask as nicely as I did.”
“So basically, you’re kicking me out,” Chloe said, “But I need answers. I need your help.”
“Why? And what are you doing here?” A man growled behind her.
Turning so that she was side on Chloe smiled at the man who had come in, “Hi. We should probably go somewhere more private.”
“I think here is fine,” the man replied.
“Fine.” Chloe said with a shrug, “I was wondering what happened that caused Checkmate to decided to take down the Justice Society of America when they were doing so much good.”
The man shook his head, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” Chloe said with a smile, “But if I go up those stairs over there I’ll come into your technical support room Hawkman, even if it’s outdated. Plus something will have to be done about the security in this place.”
Watching the man’s eye’s narrow she smiled. It was fun to get under the skin of a hero again. It was defiantly one of things that she missed the most about being around heroes twenty four seven.
“And how would you know about that?” Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Cause the organisation I work for is trying to bring down Checkmate but to do that we need your help.” Chloe smiled, before digging in her bag and pulling out a business card, “Call if you decide it’s time to fight against them.”
Turning and walking out the front door she wasn’t surprised when Courtney moved next to Carter and the pair whispered together quietly. Opening the door she didn’t see the man walking towards her until she ran into him.
“I’m so sorry,” Chloe said, looking up. Seeing Oliver she put her head back down straight away, hoping she wouldn’t notice him.
“That’s fine,” Oliver whispered, bending his head, trying to look the woman in the eye.
“Well I better get going,” Chloe replied before walking away quickly.
Turning the corner she broke out into a run and didn’t stop til she was back at the hotel. She couldn’t believe that she had run into Oliver like that. Last night was fine. She had been expecting it, prepared for it and she had made sure not to make too much physical contact with the man. This time it was unexpected. She couldn’t deny the way his smell still felt comforting or how strong his chest was. The last time she had heard anything about the man was when J’onn had told her the League had finally reunited.
November 25th 2010
After the initial shock about J’onn discovering where she was Chloe had calmed down, especially when the older man agreed to keep her location between them. The older man dropped by constantly joining in on the Sunday dinners, as often as time allowed, and had become a very welcomed member of their group. However when this Sunday came about Chloe couldn’t believe the agonising look on his face. Moving aside to let him in she followed him silently into the lounge room.
Sitting down across from him she took his hand, “J’onn what’s wrong?”
“The League... They reunited,” J’onn whispered, “But the only way that Oliver could get them to do it was by allowing them to search for you in their spare time.”
Sighing Chloe shook her head, “I knew this would happen one day. They’re back together though, that’s all that matters.”
“But for how long?” Martha asked, “If they find you Chloe what will you do?”
Chloe shrugged, “It doesn’t matter for the moment. If they find me they find me. I’m finally starting to come to peace with what happened during the whole Doomsday and Jimmy mess.”
“It gets worse than that,” J’onn replied, “The reason Oliver brought them back together was because there are two big threats to the world. Zod has been resurrected without powers. They think that Tess has something to do with it.”
“And the other thing?,” Chloe whispered, almost afraid of what he was going to say next. How could anything be as bad as Zod?
“Well they Justice League don’t know it yet but I had to stop a man, named Icicle from destroying another team of superheroes. The Justice Society of America. He was there on the orders of another organisation, their name is Checkmate. I’ve been hearing about them for some time now but this is the first instance where they’ve actually tried something.”
“I’ve heard of Checkmate,” Martha whispered, looking between the two of them. “I think they may be making a move for Clark sometime soon.”
“How soon?” Chloe asked, trying to absorb all the information at once.
“I don’t know but I think the second that they learn about Zod and his followers I’m sure Checkmate will make their move. This is not an organisation we want to let get to Clark.” J’onn whispered, “From what I’ve heard whilst they may be trying their hardest to be good, their principals can be a little crocked at time.”
“Like using a meta to hurt other people,” Chloe whispered, “Cause that’s what I’m going to assume Icicle was.”
J’onn nodded, “He was indeed.”
“Then we’ll have to do something to stop them,” Chloe replied, “It’s the only thing to do.”
Martha nodded, “I’ve been hearing about them for a while. I’ve just never been able to put a name to the face. I’ve been thinking of a way to stop them but the only way it would work is if both of you help me.”
“How?”
“I’ve been thinking we need to form an organisation of our own, a new chess piece to shake things up,” Martha replied.
“And what would we do to help?” Chloe asked, “I’d really rather keep the league at bay for as long as possible.”
“Well this would require you to stay here Chloe and J’onn to ensure the League doesn’t find you.” Martha replied, “I would need you to be our eyes and ears.”
“So you’d like me to play Watchtower again,” Chloe whispered. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. While she knew it was probably the only option to save Clark there was a part of her that wished it wasn’t an option. She didn’t feel like she could play a sidekick again and as much as she had enjoyed that part of her life she was ready to put it behind her now.
“I was thinking more that we would need your hacking skills but you’d also need to get some martial arts training and a costume of your own. I’d need you to be able to go into the field whenever J’onn can’t.” Martha replied, reaching out a hand to pat the younger girl’s forearm.
“So I’d be having an active role in this whole thing,” Chloe whispered, “But J’onn’s powers allow him to travel great distances in short amounts of time.” Pausing Chloe shook her head, “How is it you got your powers back?”
J’onn smiled, “While I was dealing with the Icicle situation I met a man from the Justice Society of America who had the ability to restore my Martian powers.”
“He sounds like a very power man,” Chloe whispered, “Maybe we should enlist the help of the heroes we know.”
Martha sighed, “I don’t know. We’d have to be doing a lot of deception to make this work. I don’t think the League is in a place where they can be ready for that.”
Chloe nodded, “So instead J’onn and I will be your heroes. What’s your role in all this?”
“Well I think I need to be the figure head, a Queen if you like, but mainly I’m going to use my government contacts to find out as much as I can about Checkmate. I’ll relay the information to you Chloe and J’onn will do the same with anything that he finds. You’ll coordinate and it’ll give you the chance to search for any gaps in our research.”
“This is going to take a long time isn’t it?” Chloe asked, the whole idea finally dawning on her.
“Yes, but I think we can make it, if we work together,” Martha replied, “When the time comes to take them down we’ll ask the Justice League and the Justice Society to join forces with us and ensure that we have our victory.”
“I’m in,” Chloe whispered, “Lets do this.”
“I’m in too,” J’onn whispered, “It’s time to take out this organisation. They can’t get the traveller.”
“No they can’t,” Both women whispered together.
Click to go to Part 2
Author name: isdon_isgood9
Genre: Gen
Pairing and/or characters: Chloe Sullivan, J’onn Johnz, Martha Kent, Oliver Queen, Victor Stone, Bart Allen, Tess Mercer, Waller/The White Queen, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Carter Hall, Kent Nelson, Courtney Whitmore
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I in no way own Smallville. Please don’t sue, I’m a poor uni student.
Word count: 11,510
Warnings: Spoilers for Roulette, Checkmate, Absolute Justice
Summary: After the devastating events of Doomsday Chloe doesn’t feel like she can continue on with the life she has been living. She restores Oliver to his status as the Green Arrow and then leaves, hoping to come to terms with what had happened. Little did she know that she would discover a path that would make her into the hero she always dreamed to be.
Link to fic:
Part one, Part Two
Link to art: I’m not sure what happened to my artist but she never responded to my PM’s and when I realised that I hadn’t heard from her it was a week from my posting date and I couldn’t bring myself to try and get another artist just so someone else had to scramble to make art for this fic. It just didn’t seem far :D
A/N: Firstly can I say time zones confuse me so I’m hoping it’s still the 2nd in America but since I’m in Australia I hope you forgive me :D. Now I’ve been dying to write this for a while now and when I needed a smallvillebbang fic idea I figured why not try this. Of course it was a struggle to find the words at times and I felt like I should rip out my hair but I got there eventually (while doing another big ban gat the same time). I want to say thank you so much twinsarein you’ve gone above and beyond in your modding skills.
I also want to say that this fic wasn’t beta’d. I wanted it to be beta’d but life got in the way and there wasn’t time. It seems to be the story of my life so if there are problems please feel free to point them out to me :D. Also I’ve used a quote in here from the last Animorph’s book. Unless you know the books you probably won’t know what it but it comes from one the main character’s death scene where she asks whether she made a difference and the being she is talking to responds with “Yes. You were brave. You were strong. You were good. You mattered.” And I always wanted to use that line in relation to Chloe.
Anyway I’ll stop prattling on now. I hope you enjoy. Feel free to leave a comment. I love constructive criticism :D.
September 27th 2012
Shifting her glasses she watched the confrontation in front of her. Tess Mercer was a silly girl and she couldn’t help but shake her head at the antics that she used. Still it was a very Tess way to deal with the situation. Watching as the butt of Tess’s gun smacked the Green Arrow across the head she sighed before tapping her com, opening a channel between herself and the home base.
“Arrow is out. The White Queen is making her move. I’m preparing to engage in pursuit.” Nodding as the voice in her ear answered she said, “Yes. It’s about time we showed Waller whose boss. Phoenix out.”
Dropping down off the roof she ran for her bike, lifting the kick stand and moving it swiftly into gear before following Tess’s car. She had grown to love this game of cat and mouse, only this time she wasn’t the mouse.
August 31st 2009
Smiling as she watched Oliver laughing at something Clark was saying in his ear, Chloe was glad that Oliver was finally smiling again. It was a weird, to think that she had done that for one of her heroes. She had saved him from the depth of depression so that they were able to smile again. It had been hard. She had to convince far too many people to come back when they didn’t want to and the only way she could really get them to agree would be to allow for them return to wherever they were hiding in the first place. She didn’t like it one bit but she had bit the bullet and allowed them all to drop off the grid again. It was obvious that they weren’t ready to reform yet and she could let them be for a while. Eventually she knew they would have to come back.
Hopefully her decision would help them to come back.
Smiling as Oliver walked over she was glad that his first patrol had been successful. Hopefully it would be enough to convince him to stay. After all Metropolis needed heroes and Oliver was one of the best in her opinion. It might take him a bit of time to get back to where he was before the Doomsday incident but she knew he would make it. He finally had the ability to pick himself up and out of the gutter. It was a good know that he was returning to himself. Once his company was back to its proper status she knew that Oliver would finally feel like himself.
“You ready to get out of here sidekick?,” Oliver asked, running a hand along her desk, “Not that this isn’t a good place to be. You’ve done a lot with my money.”
“I didn’t do it,” Chloe replied with a shake of her head, “Emil did and he did an amazing job.” Sighing she closed her eyes before turning to face him completely, “But I’m defiantly ready to head home.”
“Good, I’ll walk you to your car.” Oliver said, standing and offering his arm.
Picking up a folder that was laying on her desk she replied, “I’ll meet you at the elevator, I need to shut this place down for the night.”
“Is there anything I can do to help with that?”
“Not without ruining everything,” Chloe replied, “I’ll only be a minute.”
Hearing Oliver sigh she watched as he headed to the door before she switched off the computers, moving slowly around the room. She ran her hand over the tops of the closest computers before circling back to her desk, and her handbag. Pulling out an envelope, addressed to the league, she placed to on the desk. Smoothing it out so it looked like it naturally belonged there and would blend in with the other papers around it she was hoping she could make it out of the state before anyone read the letter.
Sometimes she still couldn’t believe that she had gotten the chance to work for such amazing people, doing such amazing things. Leaving them was one of the hardest things she had to do but she had to leave. She had crossed a line when she came to Davis, she knew that, even if Clark didn’t believe that she did, and she needed to deal with that. Find a way to go back to being a hero. So she got herself a new job, in Washington, as a reporter, hoping that the life she once wanted would help her find peace within herself again.
Shaking her head she picked up her bag and keys. Placing the bag over her shoulder she pulled her key to the Watchtower off her key ring and left it on top of the envelope. Walking backwards towards the door she took a final look at the place. The wedding gift from her dead husband, the place that had ultimately been where he was murdered, she couldn’t help but feel sad. It was time for her to find peace with that. While the heroes around her had been falling apart she had found a way to stay together long enough to place them back together. Now that Oliver was well on the way she felt more than safe enough to leave, knowing that somehow Ollie would find a way to pull together the rest of the heroes in their scrappy band.
Smiling as she turned and headed towards him. She entered the elevator, taking Oliver’s arm when he offered it and waited for the elevator to start it decent. Today would be the last time Chloe would be here.
After today she would no longer be Chloe Sullivan.
September 27th 2012
Starting her bike for a second time that night she followed the van, praying that she would be able to pull off the move she was about to make. After all this was her first job out on her own, at least in the field. Normally she worked behind her desk, she hadn’t been needed in the field until now and it allowed for greater flexibility when it came to her day job, but it meant she didn’t get much of a chance to be a part of the action. She had been trained for this, worked hard to ensure that she could be in the field, after all that was what she had been hired for originally. The opportunity to use those skills had just never come up before.
Shaking her head she tried to refocus, knowing this move would have to be performed with precision. Taking her left leg off the bike she placed it on the seat in front of her. Making sure that the bike was parallel to the van she waited, taking her foot off the accelerator slowly. Feeling the bike slow under her body she took a deep breath, closing her eyes to keep her centre until she felt the bike slow further. Taking a deep breath she gathered her courage before jumping across, grabbing onto the side of the van with her hands. Swinging one leg up onto the back she smiled before ensuring the other leg was up on the platform. Moving towards the door she pulled out her lock picking seat. Fiddling with the locks for a couple of minutes she smiled as the door swung opened a couple of millimetres.
The White Queen’s voice came floating out of the door the minute it opened, “Well, I'm sorry you think these tactics are crude. But I fear for our country's security. That's why I'm recruiting capable people like you.”
Rolling her eyes she peeked in, spotting the Green Arrow tied to a chair in the middle of the van. His hands were working on his binds even as he was throwing snarky comments at the White Queen. Smiling she pulled the door open a few further inches before slipping into the back of the van. Pulling her gun from her belt she shook her head as she heard the White Queen babble on about working for their country. Moving into the light she raised the gun at the television screen that Waller was using to communicate.
“I think that’s enough Waller. The Red Queen says hello,” she commented, just as she had been instructed, before pulling the trigger. The shot went through the television, cutting off Waller’s transmission.
Shaking her head she turned to the Green Arrow. This would prove whether or voice distorter did its job or not, “How much longer til you get yourself out?” she asked.
“I’m done now,” he replied, showing her his hands, the cuffs swinging off the right one.
Smiling she nodded, “Ok then we should get out of here before the driver realises what’s happened.”
Heading to the door she looked over her shoulder to ensure he followed before leaping off the van, falling into a commando roll to protect herself from the fall. Rolling up to her feet she smiled when she saw that the Green Arrow had done the same thing. Turning to glance back down the road she saw her bike lying in one piece.
Turning back to the Archer she said, “Metropolis is a four hour walk that way. You should be able to get there before sunrise,” pointing to the east. She watched as he looked in the direction she was pointing, seeing the skyline, before he turned back to her.
“Where are you going then? Back to this Red Queen? And who the hell was that? What’s going on?”
“The Red Queen is the good guy in the chess game,” she said with a smile, “Trust in that. I would never lie to you Archer.”
“I don’t even know you.”
“That doesn’t matter, I know you.”
Watching him nod he didn’t say anything else, just continued to size her up. When he finally turned and left, starting on his trek, she sighed. She knew he wouldn’t trust her, not without knowing who she actually was, but she was glad that he walked away without any further questions. It was a good quality for a hero to have but she prayed that Oliver didn’t actually use the gene to keep people in his other life away. It shouldn’t bother her anymore but for some reason it did. Thinking he was far enough away she pushed down her hood, letting her red hair fly free in the breeze. It had grown over time and she had become very use to the fact that it wasn’t blond anymore. Not that it really mattered.
Sighing she headed for her bike. She knew that tonight they had only won a battle but the war was far from over. Chloe prayed it would be over soon, that there time would come and that she would be able to return to a semi-normal life, before she had worked with the Red Queen.
October 4th 2009
Chloe had only been in Washington DC for a month but she had already had three articles published in the Washington Post as their new freelance journalist. It felt good to get back to her roots, to be writing again without the drama of hiding secrets. No one really cared about Clark here. No one wanted the superheroes of the world to unmask. Here the only really care was politics. What was happening in their capitol city was big and it was what had led Chloe to her stories and Perry White. She had called in a favour with him and in turn he had hooked her up with the editor at the Post. They had offered her a full time job but she didn’t feel like it was a good idea, burying herself in work. If she wanted that she could have just stayed in Metropolis but here she was going to be different, or at least she was going to try to be.
Smiling she moved between the shelves in the supermarket picking up the things she needed. She was dressed casually, wearing jeans and a shirt. Her newly red hair was tied up in a pony tail at the top of her head. It was odd. She still couldn’t get use to looking in the mirror and seeing red hair but she wanted to be as disguised as possible. The hair was just to make sure she stayed that way, just like the way she was growing it out. It was falling longer than it had in a while now but it was still pretty short. In a couple of months it would be a lot longer.
Sighing she pulled the box of cereal she had been looking for off the shelf and into her trolley just as someone called her name. Knowing that she didn’t know many people in Washington she turned to see who could possibly be calling her. Smiling she was shocked to see Martha Kent coming towards her. Waving she waited for the older woman to join her.
Returning the woman’s embrace she smiled and said, “Hey Martha, what are you doing here? This is a little bit regular for a Senator.”
“I know but it has that charm that I miss from Smallville,” she replied, pulling Chloe in close to her side, “Now when did you move to Washington and why didn’t Clark tell me?”
“Clark didn’t tell you cause I didn’t tell him this was where I was going. The whole moving thing is a long story not really designed for a supermarket,” Chloe replied with a chuckle, hopping that Martha would leave it at that.
“Well then I guess I’ll have come over, see your place, get the whole story and make you dinner.”
Sighing Chloe smiled at the older woman, she should have realised that she couldn’t get out of it, “As long as you make your apple pie.”
“I think that can be arranged,” Martha replied.
Several hours later Chloe was sitting on her couch next to Martha having finally finished telling her all that happened over the last two years. Watching the woman gape made her nervous. After all she couldn’t tell what the older woman was thinking. The whole story was a lot to take in and she had to go into a lot of the details that Clark had apparently left out when he spoke to his mother about it. She understood why Clark would keep something like that from his mother but she also knew that Martha wasn’t like other parents. She understood what happened better with her first hand experiences of the weird and wonderful things that could happen in Smallville.
“Oh Chloe,” the older woman whispered, “I can’t believe all of this happened to you. I wish I could have known sooner.”
“There’s nothing to be done now Mrs Kent. I just have to deal with my guilt,” Chloe replied with a simple shrug.
“Chloe, listen to me carefully cause I’m only going to say this once. You were brave, you were strong, you were good, and you mattered. I’m astounded by the courage that you have displayed during these events. Don’t you ever doubt that,” Martha whispered.
Smiling at the older woman she couldn’t help but feel better, “Thank you Mrs Kent but I just did what needed to be done. Anyone else would have done the same thing.”
Shaking her head Martha replied, “Maybe it’s good you got away from Smallville and Metropolis. While some of the choices you made weren’t great you were trying to do the right thing.”
“Thank you Mrs Kent,” she whispered, rubbing the older woman’s arm, “I’m glad you think so. You’re opinion means so much to me.”
September 27th 2012
Pulling into the underground car park of the hotel she was staying in Chloe used the service entrance to make her way to her floor. Kicking off her boots at the doorway she sighed, getting ready to take off the rest of her costume. When she had first been recruited by the Red Queen she didn’t like that idea of wearing a costume but it had grown on her since then. Of course her costume was more modest than the other members of the Red Queen’s organisation. The vest cut off at her shoulders, had a hood attached to the back and stopped when it got to her hips. In some ways the vest reminded her of the vest that Oliver wore. She also wore motorcycle boots, just like Oliver’s but that’s where the similarities stopped. Her outfit had a shirt, that fell to about her mid thigh and utility belt that held her weapons and devices. It was a bold crimson, like every other members was except for one, who happened to be standing in the middle of her room.
Smiling at him she said, “What did you find out?”
“Not a lot,” J’onn replied, “I’ll go look around in a bit.”
Chloe nodded, walking over to her bedside table and dropping her belt onto it, “Ok. Does the League know yet?”
“Not that I know of,” J’onn said, “They haven’t raised the signal yet. I think I’d be one of the first to be called but that can’t always be guaranteed when it comes to Dinah.”
Chloe sighed and fell onto the bed. It was still hard at times to hear that the league had replaced her with Dinah. Other times she just found it funny. A hero being demoted to her sidekick role still had her laughing at times but she could never understand why the league had decided to put her in that role. Chloe was sure that Victor would take over when she left but that wasn’t the case and while she couldn’t understand why the league had decided to pick Dinah what puzzled her more was why Dinah would agree to play Watchtower. She was sure the other woman would quickly get bored with the role but since she had found out two years ago the woman had kept the job.
Turning to smile at J’onn she said, “Well Oliver should be back within the next couple of hours. At morning by the latest depending on how hard the blow to the head was.”
“Well I’ll go survey the scene, see if I can’t find out how to get to someone else in the organisation. We just need one member to slip up and we’ll have the location of Checkmate’s headquarters. How goes the recruiting?”
Chloe rolled her eyes, “The Justice Society have well and truly hidden themselves. I do have a lead though.”
“But?”
“But it requires me to go to the Daily Planet and risk running into Clark, or worse, Lois.” Chloe replied, lying back on the bed, “But it’s all for the greater good so I’ll find a way.”
J’onn nodded, “Good to know. We’ll meet back here tomorrow night and trade notes.”
Chloe nodded her agreement and watched as J’onn left. Pulling her laptop onto the bed she switched it on before standing to get rid of her uniform. Half the time she still couldn’t believe that this had happened to her. That she was working for the Red Queen. But it had happened, purely by accident, and it had changed her life forever.
October 14th 2010
Putting the finishing touches on her meal she placed the roast on the table just as the bell rang. Smiling she headed to answer it, already knowing who it was. After their initial reunion a year ago they had met up frequently and that had increased over time so much that as long as Martha was in town they had dinner ever Sunday. It was just the two of them, catching up and sometimes reminiscing about life in Smallville and Clark. She felt so grateful to be able to share her feelings with someone who understood where she was coming from. When she had told Martha what had happened between her and Clark after Jimmy’s funeral the older woman had gotten mad at her son, not being able to understand how her son could just leave and try to remove himself completely from the humanity that Martha had worked so hard to instil in her son. While Chloe was happy that someone finally understood where she was coming from she couldn’t help but convince Martha that it had been ok, that she had somehow managed.
Chloe smiled, heading for the door. Glancing at the clock Chloe rolled her eyes, Martha was always late when senate was in session. Opening the door she was shocked to see that Martha wasn’t alone.
Smiling at the pair she said, “I wasn’t expecting you to bring someone with you Mrs Kent.”
Hugging the younger woman Martha sighed, “I’m sorry for the short notice but J’onn just dropped in unexpectedly. I didn’t want to cancel our dinner so I invited him along. I hope you don’t mind too much.”
“Not too much,” Chloe said with a smile, hugging J’onn as he entered the house, “Just a surprise.”
“Well I’m afraid that’s all my doing. I didn’t warn Martha that I was coming to visit, not that I knew you were here,” J’onn replied.
Shrugging Chloe led the pair into the lounge room, “Well that’s good. At least I know the League hasn’t been looking for me.”
“Oliver has,” J’onn replied with a sad smiled, “The rest of the team is still disrupted around the world. They haven’t done well with taking your advice.”
Noticing Martha’s raised eyebrow Chloe gave another shrug, “I left a note when I left Metropolis. It said that Oliver should put the League back together, continuing being a hero.”
“That’s very sweet of you Chloe, I’m sure the team will get themselves together soon enough,” Martha said, rubbing a hand down Chloe’s arm.
“I hope so,” Chloe whispered.
September 28th 2012
Walking into the museum Chloe smiled. She had expected the owner, Carter Hall, to have been onto her in a second since the museum was supposed to be closed. Pausing in the entryway Chloe glanced from right to left. There were two doorways she could go through. Deciding to go with the one on the right she wondered through, taking in the sheets that covered over the artefacts. It was weird and a little sad, to think that a place that was so filled with history could become so forgotten and it was all because of an incident with Checkmate. She hoped that one day this place could be restored in all its glory.
“Who are you?”
Turning Chloe was surprised to see a blonde standing behind her, arms crossed, dressed in red, white and blue. Taking a step forward Chloe smiled and said, “I’m looking for Carter Hall and Kent Nelson. I was told I could find them here.”
“Who told you that?”
“The information I was able to find online. It’s fairly simple to look up someone’s address with the use of the internet.” When the younger girl’s expression didn’t change Chloe took a step forward, putting out her hand, “Look we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I’m Chloe Sullivan and you are?”
“I’m Courtney,” the girl said with the shrug, “What do you want with Carter and Nelson?
“I want to talk to them about what they know about an organisation named Checkmate.” Chloe replied, “I can assume you’re a protégé of one of them.”
“No,” Courtney whispered, “Not that it’s any of your business. You should leave before Carter get’s back, he won’t ask as nicely as I did.”
“So basically, you’re kicking me out,” Chloe said, “But I need answers. I need your help.”
“Why? And what are you doing here?” A man growled behind her.
Turning so that she was side on Chloe smiled at the man who had come in, “Hi. We should probably go somewhere more private.”
“I think here is fine,” the man replied.
“Fine.” Chloe said with a shrug, “I was wondering what happened that caused Checkmate to decided to take down the Justice Society of America when they were doing so much good.”
The man shook his head, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” Chloe said with a smile, “But if I go up those stairs over there I’ll come into your technical support room Hawkman, even if it’s outdated. Plus something will have to be done about the security in this place.”
Watching the man’s eye’s narrow she smiled. It was fun to get under the skin of a hero again. It was defiantly one of things that she missed the most about being around heroes twenty four seven.
“And how would you know about that?” Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Cause the organisation I work for is trying to bring down Checkmate but to do that we need your help.” Chloe smiled, before digging in her bag and pulling out a business card, “Call if you decide it’s time to fight against them.”
Turning and walking out the front door she wasn’t surprised when Courtney moved next to Carter and the pair whispered together quietly. Opening the door she didn’t see the man walking towards her until she ran into him.
“I’m so sorry,” Chloe said, looking up. Seeing Oliver she put her head back down straight away, hoping she wouldn’t notice him.
“That’s fine,” Oliver whispered, bending his head, trying to look the woman in the eye.
“Well I better get going,” Chloe replied before walking away quickly.
Turning the corner she broke out into a run and didn’t stop til she was back at the hotel. She couldn’t believe that she had run into Oliver like that. Last night was fine. She had been expecting it, prepared for it and she had made sure not to make too much physical contact with the man. This time it was unexpected. She couldn’t deny the way his smell still felt comforting or how strong his chest was. The last time she had heard anything about the man was when J’onn had told her the League had finally reunited.
November 25th 2010
After the initial shock about J’onn discovering where she was Chloe had calmed down, especially when the older man agreed to keep her location between them. The older man dropped by constantly joining in on the Sunday dinners, as often as time allowed, and had become a very welcomed member of their group. However when this Sunday came about Chloe couldn’t believe the agonising look on his face. Moving aside to let him in she followed him silently into the lounge room.
Sitting down across from him she took his hand, “J’onn what’s wrong?”
“The League... They reunited,” J’onn whispered, “But the only way that Oliver could get them to do it was by allowing them to search for you in their spare time.”
Sighing Chloe shook her head, “I knew this would happen one day. They’re back together though, that’s all that matters.”
“But for how long?” Martha asked, “If they find you Chloe what will you do?”
Chloe shrugged, “It doesn’t matter for the moment. If they find me they find me. I’m finally starting to come to peace with what happened during the whole Doomsday and Jimmy mess.”
“It gets worse than that,” J’onn replied, “The reason Oliver brought them back together was because there are two big threats to the world. Zod has been resurrected without powers. They think that Tess has something to do with it.”
“And the other thing?,” Chloe whispered, almost afraid of what he was going to say next. How could anything be as bad as Zod?
“Well they Justice League don’t know it yet but I had to stop a man, named Icicle from destroying another team of superheroes. The Justice Society of America. He was there on the orders of another organisation, their name is Checkmate. I’ve been hearing about them for some time now but this is the first instance where they’ve actually tried something.”
“I’ve heard of Checkmate,” Martha whispered, looking between the two of them. “I think they may be making a move for Clark sometime soon.”
“How soon?” Chloe asked, trying to absorb all the information at once.
“I don’t know but I think the second that they learn about Zod and his followers I’m sure Checkmate will make their move. This is not an organisation we want to let get to Clark.” J’onn whispered, “From what I’ve heard whilst they may be trying their hardest to be good, their principals can be a little crocked at time.”
“Like using a meta to hurt other people,” Chloe whispered, “Cause that’s what I’m going to assume Icicle was.”
J’onn nodded, “He was indeed.”
“Then we’ll have to do something to stop them,” Chloe replied, “It’s the only thing to do.”
Martha nodded, “I’ve been hearing about them for a while. I’ve just never been able to put a name to the face. I’ve been thinking of a way to stop them but the only way it would work is if both of you help me.”
“How?”
“I’ve been thinking we need to form an organisation of our own, a new chess piece to shake things up,” Martha replied.
“And what would we do to help?” Chloe asked, “I’d really rather keep the league at bay for as long as possible.”
“Well this would require you to stay here Chloe and J’onn to ensure the League doesn’t find you.” Martha replied, “I would need you to be our eyes and ears.”
“So you’d like me to play Watchtower again,” Chloe whispered. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. While she knew it was probably the only option to save Clark there was a part of her that wished it wasn’t an option. She didn’t feel like she could play a sidekick again and as much as she had enjoyed that part of her life she was ready to put it behind her now.
“I was thinking more that we would need your hacking skills but you’d also need to get some martial arts training and a costume of your own. I’d need you to be able to go into the field whenever J’onn can’t.” Martha replied, reaching out a hand to pat the younger girl’s forearm.
“So I’d be having an active role in this whole thing,” Chloe whispered, “But J’onn’s powers allow him to travel great distances in short amounts of time.” Pausing Chloe shook her head, “How is it you got your powers back?”
J’onn smiled, “While I was dealing with the Icicle situation I met a man from the Justice Society of America who had the ability to restore my Martian powers.”
“He sounds like a very power man,” Chloe whispered, “Maybe we should enlist the help of the heroes we know.”
Martha sighed, “I don’t know. We’d have to be doing a lot of deception to make this work. I don’t think the League is in a place where they can be ready for that.”
Chloe nodded, “So instead J’onn and I will be your heroes. What’s your role in all this?”
“Well I think I need to be the figure head, a Queen if you like, but mainly I’m going to use my government contacts to find out as much as I can about Checkmate. I’ll relay the information to you Chloe and J’onn will do the same with anything that he finds. You’ll coordinate and it’ll give you the chance to search for any gaps in our research.”
“This is going to take a long time isn’t it?” Chloe asked, the whole idea finally dawning on her.
“Yes, but I think we can make it, if we work together,” Martha replied, “When the time comes to take them down we’ll ask the Justice League and the Justice Society to join forces with us and ensure that we have our victory.”
“I’m in,” Chloe whispered, “Lets do this.”
“I’m in too,” J’onn whispered, “It’s time to take out this organisation. They can’t get the traveller.”
“No they can’t,” Both women whispered together.
Click to go to Part 2